M4.2 earthquake 40 km N of La Serena, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 40 km N of La Serena, Chile on Fri, May 15, 2015, 3:05 AM GMT-3 (06:05 UTC), 48 km (30 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 80 km WSW of Vallenar, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (mwr), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 2015-05-15 06:05:24 UTC
- Depth
- 47.6 km (29.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 29.537° S, 71.206° W
- Region
- Chile
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 355°, dip 29°, rake 80°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 187°, dip 61°, rake 96°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.1 km horizontally, 6.4 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 143°
- Stations used
- 37
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.680 km WSW of Vallenar, Chile · 4136 days ago · 26 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.289 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 4123 days ago · 10 km deep · 79 km away
- 4.538 km NW of Ovalle, Chile · 4115 days ago · 56 km deep · 91 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10002974. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 7:52 AM UTC.